The present paper describes a project started in 2005, which consists in applied investigation and communication plan design for NGOS, carried out in collaboration between university students and organizations, supervised by lecturers. The initiative is based on the following ideas:

1. The project enables university students to introduce themselves in the specialized labour market of non governmental and non profit organizations.
2. Students gain work experience and learn to design strategic communication plans for NGOS.
3. Working in social and cooperation campaigns sensitize the students to social problems and corporate responsibility.
4. University expert collaboration helps NGOS to professionalize their communications departments.

“The method of real social project” is developed within the framework of interactive learning systems and consists in planning and implementation of real investigation and communication projects for a NGO, as a volunteer work of communication students at the Faculty of Communication Science at Complutense University of Madrid. The collaborating organizations are non lucrative, cultural, social or cooperation associations that benefit either the local society or developing countries.
The interactive teaching method and use of real projects implies great responsibility from students, permitting students to become the real protagonist of their own learning process and lecturers to assume the paper of counsellors. The lecturers select the collaborating NGOS in the beginning of the academic year and either offer the project to volunteer student groups or incorporate the initiative as a part of the academic work in classroom.

The method of real social project innovates from two different points of view: on one hand, interactive teaching makes students learn by working in real campaigns and on the other, they are educated in solidarity and social values. The project is not about charity, it is more about sustainable aid and assistance for NGOS and educations in humanitarian and social values. Alltogether, working in real investigation and campaigns grows the motivations of the students, as they can test the knowledge and skills obtained in classroom and add contents to the section of professional experience of their CV. The project results in a series of promotional, informative and media materials. These documents serve, apart from their original purpose to give support to NGO communication departments, as examples for lessons and also as pieces of artwork for the dossiers of advertising students.

During the past three academic years, lecturers Nuñez, Cela and Hänninen in collaboration with their student teams have carried out an investigation and campaign design project for the following organizations:

-2005/6: Operación 10, a cooperation NGO working with vulnerable childhood in Bolivia.
-2006/7: Fundación Magdalena, specialized in aiding women with serious physical and psychological incapacities.
-2007/8: Three NGO working in the field of childhood and cooperation; Adali, Infancia Solidaria and Karibu.

This interactive teaching method that narrows the gap between university and NGOS also emphasizes the corporate social responsibility of the University and meets with the requirements of the Bologna Declaration in terms of interactive and transversal learning system.